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Operations
Defense Policy / Programs
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News Reports

Current Operations

• OIF/OEF Casualty Update 18 Dec 2008 [PDF]
• Coalition, Iraqi Forces Capture Suspects to Thwart al-Qaida in Iraq AFPS 18 Dec 2008 -- Coalition and Iraqi forces killed three enemy fighters and captured 24 suspected terrorists during operations in Iraq in the past three days, military officials reported.
• Dec. 17 airpower summary: C-130s support heavy airlift AFNS 18 Dec 2008 -- Coalition airpower integrated with coalition ground forces in Iraq and International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan during operations Dec. 17, according to Combined Air and Space Operations Center officials here.
• Britain to end Iraqi military operations by May 31 - PM Brown RIA Novosti 18 Dec 2008 -- Britain will end its military operations in Iraq by May 31 next year, the country's prime minister announced on Thursday during a parliamentary session.
• British Leader Explains Planned Troop Withdrawal From Iraq VOA 18 Dec 2008 -- Addressing parliament Thursday, Prime Minister Gordon Brown unveiled the specifics of next year's British military withdrawal from Iraq after what will be six years of deployment.
• Transition Command Helps to Build Afghan Air Corps AFPS 18 Dec 2008 -- The Afghan National Army Air Corps has received the first three of six Mil Mi-35 attack helicopters, adding to its growing capabilities.
• Afghan Supply Line Still Viable Despite Breaches, Pentagon Official Says AFPS 18 Dec 2008 -- As the U.S. military works to improve security along a supply line that passes through Pakistan en route to Afghanistan, the pathway continues to be a viable means of logistics, a Pentagon official said today.
• Afghan Commandos Detain Insurgent Leader, Two Others AFPS 18 Dec 2008 -- Afghan National Army commandos, assisted by coalition forces, detained an insurgent leader and two other militants in eastern Afghanistan yesterday, military officials reported.
• Tackling corruption crucial to Afghanistan’s future, stresses UN envoy UN News Centre 18 Dec 2008 -- The top United Nations envoy to Afghanistan today called the fight against corruption one of the single most important issues for the future of the young democracy, and urged all of its citizens and its international partners to combat the scourge.
• AFGHANISTAN: UN beefs up its assistance mission IRIN 18 Dec 2008 -- The UN is to double the budget of its Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), raising the number of international staff from 1,500 to 2,000 to improve service delivery, aid effectiveness and donor coordination.
• AFGHANISTAN-IRAN: Iran called upon to halt winter deportations IRIN 18 Dec 2008 -- Afghan government officials and aid agencies are calling on the Iranian authorities to halt the deportation of Afghans from Iran during the winter for humanitarian reasons.

Defense Policy / Programs

• Gates Urges Direct Dialogue With President-elect on Iraq AFPS 18 Dec 2008 -- Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates hopes commanders with a “vested interest” in the future role of U.S. forces in Iraq can share their views directly with the incoming president, a Pentagon official said today.
• Gates Requests Plan for Guantanamo Closure AFPS 18 Dec 2008 -- Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates has requested a proposal for shutting down the U.S. detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, a Pentagon official said today.
• Gates Wants Plan for Closing Guantanamo Detention Center VOA 18 Dec 2008 -- U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates is has ordered his staff to prepare a plan for closing the Guantanamo Bay detention center, to be ready for possible implementation soon after President-elect Barack Obama takes office January 20.
• Interview: Problems in Closing Guantanamo Detention Camp cfr.org 18 Dec 2008 -- Interviewee: Matthew C. Waxman, Adjunct Senior Fellow for Law and Foreign Policy
• Transcript: DoD News Briefing with Geoff Morrell from the Pentagon Briefing Room, Arlington, Va. DoD 18 Dec 2008 -- Presenter: Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell
• Secretary announces provisional Global Strike commander AFNS 18 Dec 2008 -- The secretary of the Air Force here selected a commander for the provisional Air Force Global Strike Command Dec. 18.
• Kyrgyzstan parliament members visit Manas AFNS 18 Dec 2008 -- A delegation of Kyrgyzstan's parliament led by Vice Speaker Kubanychbek Isabekov visited Manas Air Base Dec. 15.
• Taiwan air force officials visit Personnel Center AFNS 18 Dec 2008 -- Members of the Taiwan air force visited the Air Force Personnel Center here Dec. 12 to gain knowledge on how to establish an all-volunteer force.
• PACAF officials centralize fitness testing AFNS 18 Dec 2008 -- Airmen across the Pacific Air Forces area of responsibility soon will see a change in their fitness testing procedures as command officials move to centralize the testing under base health and wellness centers by March of 2009.
• National Guard to Support Presidential Inauguration AFPS 18 Dec 2008 -- More than 4,000 citizen-soldiers and airmen from at least eight states will provide security, medical and other support during the Jan. 20 presidential inauguration, a National Guard official said today.
• Defense Department Agencies Recognized for Cutting Costs AFPS 18 Dec 2008 -- After more than two years of promoting the idea that “What gets checked gets done,” the Defense Department’s “Check It” campaign came to an end today with an awards ceremony at the National Defense University on Fort McNair here.
• U.S. Welcomes Chinese Plans to Fight Piracy, Admiral Says AFPS 18 Dec 2008 -- The United States would welcome China’s participation in counter-piracy operations in the Gulf of Aden and off the Somali coast, the top U.S. commander in the Pacific said today at the Foreign Press Center here.
• Second iteration of new EWO course set to begin Army News 18 Dec 2008 -- The second pilot iteration of the Army's new Electronic Warfare Officer Qualification Course (FA29) is scheduled to begin Jan. 12 at Fort Sill, Okla
• USS Abraham Lincoln Assists in Medevac At Sea Navy NewsStand 18 Dec 2008 -- USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) assisted in a medical evacuation (MEDEVAC) from a Liberian-flagged merchant ship Dec. 13, nearly 300 miles off the coast of Southern California.
• Iraqi Joint Forces Chief of Staff Visits Iwo Jima Navy NewsStand 18 Dec 2008 -- Iraqi Joint Forces chief of staff and Commader Task Force (CTF) 51, visited multipurpose amphibious assault ship USS Iwo Jima (LHD 7) in the Persian Gulf.
• San Antonio Showcases Air Capabilities with Marine ACE Detachment Navy NewsStand 18 Dec 2008 -- Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron (HMM) 264 Aviation Combat Element (ACE) detachment recently embarked amphibious transport dock ship USS San Antonio (LPD 17) to conduct a variety of training operations with the ship's air department.
• Future USS George H.W. Bush to Transit Navy NewsStand 18 Dec 2008 -- The future USS George H.W. Bush, (CVN-77), will transit from the Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding-Newport News shipyard to Norfolk Naval Station on Dec. 22.
• Trainees slew the BEAST in new basic training program AFNS 18 Dec 2008 -- The first group of Airman Basic trainees in the newly extended 8.5-week Basic Military Training program conquered the BEAST Dec. 15 at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas.
• Geothermal heating to save money, energy at Minot AFNS 18 Dec 2008 -- Geothermal heating has been used since the time of the Romans as a way of heating buildings, and now it has come to Minot Air Force Base.
• USS Tucson Returns to Pearl Harbor Navy NewsStand 18 Dec 2008 -- USS Tucson (SSN 770) returned to Naval Station Pearl Harbor Monday, Dec. 15, following a 23-month absence that included a modernization period in Norfolk, numerous sea trials and a port visit in San Diego.
• Carl Vinson Brings JP-5 Aboard, Readies for Missions Navy NewsStand 18 Dec 2008 -- Sailors assigned to the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70) Air Department worked Dec. 13-14, to completed a new milestone for the V-4 division and transfer 750,000 gallons of JP-5 aviation fuel back aboard the ship.
• Post-Soviet security bloc unaware of U.S. plans for C.Asia bases RIA Novosti 18 Dec 2008 -- The head of a post-Soviet security bloc said on Thursday he had no information about the possible deployment of new U.S. military bases in Kazakhstan or Uzbekistan.
• Post-Soviet security bloc favors cooperation with NATO RIA Novosti 18 Dec 2008 -- The Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) favors cooperation with other international organizations, particularly NATO, the head of the post-Soviet military alliance said on Thursday.
• Source dismisses Kyrgyz plans to withdraw U.S. base RIA Novosti 18 Dec 2008 -- The Kyrgyz authorities have not yet even considered closing a U.S. air base, a source in the republic's presidential administration said on Thursday.
• India test-fires supersonic cruise missile RIA Novosti 18 Dec 2008 -- The Indian Navy successfully launched a BrahMos supersonic cruise missile on Thursday from a mobile platform in the Bay of Bengal.
• Army helicopter crashes in southern mountains; 5 injured CNA 18 Dec 2008 -- An army CH-47SD helicopter crashed into a ditch in a mountainous training battleground near Cishan township in the southern county of Kaohsiung Thursday, injuring five officers aboard, a Defense Ministry statement confirmed later that day
• Live-fire Hankuang war games to take place every two years: MND CNA 18 Dec 2008 -- The live-fire Hankuang war games will now be held every two years instead of annually, Defense Minister Chen Chao-min said Thursday
• Daily Press Briefing US Dept. of State 18 Dec 2008
• Press Briefing by Press Secretary Dana Perino The White House 18 Dec 2008

Defense Industry

• DoD News: Contracts for December 18, 2008
• Javelin Joint Venture Awarded $29.9 Million for Command Launch Unit Upgrade Raytheon 18 Dec 2008 -- The Raytheon Company -Lockheed Martin Javelin Joint Venture received a $29.9 million U.S. Marine Corps contract to upgrade 404 Block 0 command launch units to Block I.
• Boeing Completes Acquisition of Digital Receiver Technology Boeing 18 Dec 2008 -- The Boeing Company [NYSE: BA] has completed its acquisition of Digital Receiver Technology Inc. (DRT), a Germantown, Md.-based company that develops wireless surveillance products for government customers.
• Boeing Makes Network-Centric Advances in 2008 Boeing 18 Dec 2008 -- Significant milestones in major network systems programs -- like the U.S. Army's Future Combat Systems (FCS), the Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD) system and the SBInet component of the Department of Homeland Security's Secure Border Initiative -- added up to a successful 2008 for the network-centric information-sharing technologies business at Boeing [NYSE: BA].
• U.S. Navy Awards General Dynamics $47 Million For Post-Shakedown Work on USS North Carolina General Dynamics 18 Dec 2008 -- The U.S. Navy has awarded General Dynamics Electric Boat two contract modifications totaling $46.5 million to perform work on USS North Carolina (SSN-777) during its post-shakedown availability (PSA).
• Raytheon Awarded Not-To-Exceed $3.3 Billion Patriot Order for the UAE Raytheon 18 Dec 2008 -- Raytheon Company has been awarded a not-to-exceed $3.3 billion order to provide advanced Patriot air and missile defense capability, whole life support and training for the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
• Lockheed Martin, Thales Alenia Space Partner To Deliver Space Radar Solutions For Global Customers Lockheed Martin 18 Dec 2008 -- Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] and Thales Alenia Space of Italy announced today they are forming a strategic partnership to jointly develop and deliver a new family of space-based remote sensing systems for customers around the world.
• Boeing A160T Unmanned Rotorcraft Shifts Gears in Flight, Passes 100 Flight-Hours Boeing 18 Dec 2008 -- Boeing [NYSE: BA] today announced that its A160 Turbine (A160T) Hummingbird unmanned rotorcraft has achieved two key milestones: using its two-speed transmission to change gears in flight, and passing the 100-flight-hour threshold.

Other Conflicts

• DAILY PRESS BRIEFING BY THE OFFICE OF THE SPOKESPERSON FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL United Nations 18 Dec 2008
• PRESS CONFERENCE BY PERMANENT REPRESENTATIVE OF SOUTH AFRICA United Nations 18 Dec 2008
• PRESS CONFERENCE BY UNDER-SECRETARY-GENERAL FOR HUMANITARIAN AFFAIRS United Nations 18 Dec 2008
• Pakistan lodges protest over Indian airspace violation IRNA 18 Dec 2008 -- Pakistan on Thursday summoned deputy Indian envoy to the Foreign Ministry and lodged a protest over violation of its airspace by Indian aircraft, the Foreign Ministry spokesman said on Thursday
• India Plans No Military Action Against Pakistan Over Mumbai Attacks VOA 18 Dec 2008 -- Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari has again said there is still no conclusive evidence to support the claim that the Mumbai attackers received training from terrorist camps inside Pakistan.
• Rwanda: UN court jails ex-military leader, two others for life on genocide charges UN News Centre 18 Dec 2008 -- A United Nations court today sentenced the alleged mastermind behind the 1994 massacre of hundreds of thousands of people in Rwanda and two co-defendants to life imprisonment for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.
• DR Congo: UN-backed peace talks between rebels and Government restart in Nairobi UN News Centre 18 Dec 2008 -- United Nations-backed talks between the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and a main rebel group, aimed at finding a peaceful resolution to the strife-ridden country’s brutal armed conflict, resumed today after a week-long break.
• Talks on Russian-Georgian conflict now ‘fully on track,’ UN envoy reports UN News Centre 18 Dec 2008 -- International talks on the Russian-Georgian conflict in South Ossetia have now entered issues of substance, with in-depth political discussions focusing on a mechanism to help prevent and resolve incidents as they arise, a senior United Nations envoy said today.
• Ongoing Darfur conflict threatens UN-African Union mission, aid efforts – Ban UN News Centre 18 Dec 2008 -- Violent clashes between the warring factions in conflict-ravaged Darfur threaten humanitarian work and the joint United Nations-African Union peacekeeping operation in the Sudanese region, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon warns in his latest report on the mission, urging all parties to end hostilities immediately.
• UN envoy urges ‘decisive’ push for Israeli-Palestinian peace in 2009 UN News Centre 18 Dec 2008 -- With the goal of reaching an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal by the end of this year out of reach, a top United Nations envoy today stressed the need to step up efforts by both sides to attain a comprehensive settlement to their decades-old conflict during the coming year.
• UN suspends food distribution in Gaza due to lack of supplies RIA Novosti 18 Dec 2008 -- The United Nations has suspended the distribution of humanitarian aid to Palestinian refugees in the Gaza Strip, a UN spokesman in the Gaza Strip said on Thursday.
• Court Gives Rwandan Genocide Plotter Life in Prison VOA 18 Dec 2008 -- A chief organizer of the 1994 Rwandan genocide has been sentenced to life in prison.

News Reports

• Greek Protesters, Police Clash for 13th Day VOA 18 Dec 2008 -- Greek riot police have formed a cordon around parliament, in a face-off with thousands of people protesting the death of a teenager from police gunfire.
• UN launches year-long campaign to highlight, and solve, plight of displaced UN News Centre 18 Dec 2008 -- The United Nations today launched a year-long advocacy campaign to help scores of millions of internally displaced persons (IDPs), focusing on mitigating the impact of conflict and natural disasters that drive so many people from their homes within their own country in what Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has called “one of the greatest humanitarian challenges we face.”
• China Sends Ships to Fight Somali Pirates VOA 18 Dec 2008 -- China has officially announced that it is indeed sending naval ships to join international efforts to combat pirates who have been hijacking ships off the coast of Somalia.
• Rights-Watchers Say New Russian Treason Legislation Harkens Back To '30s Terror RFE/RL 18 Dec 2008 -- Rights activists in Russia say proposed legislation broadening the definition of espionage and treason will return Russia to the darkest days of the Stalinist regime